MAP's 'chair-ity' benefit deserves standing ovation

Sylvia Badger

September 17, 1991|By Sylvia Badger

A WILLIAM AND MARY side chair, a Diana chair by Rita S. Clair and a slipper chair by the late Billy Baldwin were among the dozens of chairs featured in the "Lord Baltimore's Throne" exhibit at the Maryland Art Place Gala. "Chair-ity Extravaganza," held Saturday night, was so popular that exhibit curators Stiles Colwill and Robin Coplan were heady with compliments.

Colwill also co-chaired the gala with Fredye Murphy, often referred to as MAP's patron saint. This fun evening included a yummy dinner catered by Harvey's of Greenspring Station -- with Harvey and Jackie Sugarman there to keep things moving -- music by Mama Jama and an auction for 100 chairs created by Maryland artists. Seen enjoying the artistic and culinary feast were Carolyn Bode, local PR whiz; artists Linda DePalma, who designed a love seat with her husband Paul Daniel; Dirk and Virginia Mosis, Trammel Crowe exec; and Sam Himmelrich and his son Alfie.

The highlight of the evening was a bidding war between Martha Head, Adam Gross and Dorothy Scott over a chair to be specially designed for its owner by the renowned interior decorator and honorary chair of the MAP Gala, Mario Buatta. As the bidding got hotter, Buatta began tossing in goodies like his Teddy Bear trademark, pillows, 25 extra yards of material, a floor lamp and a side table. Finally, Head and Gross let Scott take the goodies for a cool $3,500. Auctioneer Rick Opfer did a fabulous job with all the auction items. Others at the party were Bob Embry, Mary Ann Mears, Greg and Lisa Barnhill, Jona and Fred Lazarus, Barrett and Laura Freelander, Mark and Linda Caplan, Gay and Ben Legg, Carolyn and David Fowler, Suzi Keats Sinex and Betty Cook.

* Thanks to the generousity of Captain Buddy Harrison and his sister, Sondra Harrison McGee, owners of Harrison's Pier 5 seafood restaurant, the American Heart Association is $12,000 richer. The two hosted what is sure to become an annual fund raiser, a Celebrity Waiters Dinner last Thursday evening, on the restaurant's deck.

It was a real winner, thanks to waiters like Skip Brown, Brown's Wharf, who dressed in safari garb, sold his friends tickets and then charged them like mad for waiting on them. Brown was the top tip collector, at $1,025, which entitled him to a round-trip ticket for two to London, gratis TWA. Second place went to a black-tied attorney, Carey Deeley Jr., who collected $1,000. When TWA heard that Deeley had wanted to win so he could donate the London trip to the family of a man waiting for a heart transplant, TWA gave another set of tickets. Rounding out the top five money collectors were Marie Evans, dressed as a Bahama Mama; Jim Hindman, T-shirt and cap; and Tom Matte, who got his old Colts uniform out of a frame to wear.

Mark your calendar for next year's fun evening and I'll see you there.

* Oct. 15 is the date for "Bay-nanza," a benefit for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation which will take place at the new Towson Town Center and hosted by the center's owners, The Hahn Company. Last week, Diane Lewis, the Center's director of marketing, flew to California with Stacey Kram, Gray Kirk/VanSant, and a camera crew to film Cheers star Ted Danson, who had volunteered to make public service announcements because he had fallen in love with the Chesapeake Bay during a visit last year. When Lewis and company arrived, the announcement had already been filmed by the Cheers crew, so the Baltimore contingent were treated as guests and sat back and watched filming for a November episode of "Cheers." At the filming were Woody Harrelson, Cheers star; Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics star; and Parker Stevenson, husband of Cheers star Kirstie Alley. Danson is filming a show in Boston in October, so planners are hoping that he might be able to fly down for the party!

* Guess who flew in for dinner? On Sunday, Lenny Kaplan, owner the Polo Grill, and his chef, Harold Marmelstein, rolled out the red carpet for the country's most popular talk show hostess, Oprah Winfrey, and her friends. Seems that Winfrey and her group of 15 flew in from Chicago just to eat the Polo Grill's tasty fried lobster tail and crab cakes. She also brought her chef, who left with Marmelstein's recipes for those two dishes.